Where there is a 'will'...

Making a will is a necessity. And this is a lesson which was imbibed in every Indian by Dhirubhai Ambani, who to the shock of all, being the man who set up India’s biggest private sector company, did not have a will in place. We mere mortals might not have so much wealth, yet what we own is valuable and hence the need to put in place a proper will. More than us, many owners of business empires would be taking the business of making a will very seriously to avoid disputes in the future. After all, most of the times, it is money which is the root cause of all bad blood between siblings.

And taking this very seriously is Prathap C. Reddy, the 80-year-old founder of India’s biggest hospital operator, Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise.  Making a will by many is considered to be inauspicious, as it pertains to death but realizes it is essential.  He has formed a team to draft a will – a seven-member family council includes Reddy, his four daughters and two professional advisers. He may not be as rich as Ambani’s but his family fortune is no small change, it is valued at about Rs.3,850 crore. It is expected that the family council may come up with a plan for his assets in the next one to two years. Reddy has four daughters, the eldest, Preetha is the managing director of the hospital, will succeed him and the other sisters have accepted that. Second daughter Suneeta is the joint MD, the third daughter is Shobana Kamineni who is executive director for new initiatives and the youngest sibling is Sangita, the executive director for operations.